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Is Barclays Premier League fair in terms of TV rights and hence popular?
The broadcast policies in England do play a massive role, giving every team equal shares. But there are several reasons as to why the English FA back their teams lower in ranking charts.
Competitiveness in the league:
After 28 games in 2013/14 season of BPL, we find that the race for the podium finish is wide open, with 4 teams in contention. West Ham in the early half of the season, were lurking down at the bottom, but a good run of form puts them right at the 10th position. The battle for the top 4 finish is again expected to go down the wire, resulting in a crucial Champions League spot. This year the teams in the relegation window have increased as compared to last year. As many as 9 teams look to survive, making the world go wild, in watching the drama unfold.
Atletico Madrid has raised their bar in La liga this season, making it a three way race. This is a very rare situation in Spain which the people have to cope up with. If the derby rivals of Real Madrid go on to win the title, it may act as a trigger to the TV rights policy.
In Serie A, it’s Juventus the team to beat. For the last 3 seasons, the Old lady has dominated the Italian football. With AS Roma showing some kind of fight early this season, the recent losses haven’t helped at all, leaving them 11 points behind the leaders.
The German Bundeliga offers no respite to any of the bottom teams as well. Bayern Munich, last season (2012/13) finished with a difference of 70 points over the bottom placed SpVgg Greuther Furth, while they finished 25 points ahead of the second placed Dortmund and thus winning the league comprehensively. The season 2013/14 offers no new situation and Bayern easily running away with the title with a gap of 20 points with just 11 games to go.
Overseas players:
Percentage of foreign players in a league
The continuous shipment of foreign players in England is a worry for the England national team but not for the popularity of its league. Players from different culture, regions and background come to England in the hopes of making their name in those most fierce and competitive league of the world. The quantity of good players in England is low and so they try to import more players. Ashley Young and Santi Cazorla came at similar fees to their respective clubs. Young was sold to United for 18 m euros because he was the best left winger England had while Cazorla who came in for 19 m euros to Arsenal, accrued his actual market price, and was not a bargain. Even if Cazorla is way better than Young, United had to pay extra amount because he was an English player. So the clubs now prefer to sign more talented and skilful players from Europe rather than spending in the English players.
In doing so, these clubs are automatically marketed across the globe, as huge numbers turn up to watch their local heroes perform at the biggest league of Europe.
Head to Head Clash:
![Champions League Head to Head, till 05.11.2013 [Stats courtesy: eurocupshistory.com]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/htoh-2128948.png)
Champions League Head to Head, till 05.11.2013 [Stats courtesy: eurocupshistory.com]
Ever since the European championships started, the English clubs have dominated their Italian and German counterparts. The result against the clubs from Spain is a matter of concern for the English teams, but they realise more than 40 % of their defeats have come at the hands of either Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Number of Domestic Champions:
There are 9 different domestic champions in Spain, 16 in Italy, 23 in England and 29 in Germany. Germany leads the way in making more teams as their champions, but England don’t fall far behind. This gives us a clear idea as how the teams in England are more competitive and understandably results in more viewer-ship both in England and the World.
Number of Champions League winners:
Real Madrid and Barcelona have won it from Spain while Juventus, AC Milan and Inter are the Italian teams to have won the Champions League. There are 3 champions from Germany, namely Bayern, Dortmund and Hamburg. England are winners in this list too having 5 teams winning the prestigious Champions League.
UEFA Country coefficients rankings
UEFA country coefficient rankings till January,2014
Consistent performances from the clubs of England have guaranteed them an extra place in the Champions League roster. 3 clubs from the top 3 leagues in Europe qualifies directly. Calculation of the coefficient depends on the results of the previous four season as-well. This makes sure that the teams from the Premier League can handle a blow and be eliminated early in one odd season, as they have the luxury of the coefficient rankings. They are well clear from the fourth position and hence will continue to field more teams in the Champions league, continuing its popularity across the globe.
Conclusion
England may not have the best team in the world, but they don’t lack the ruthlessness in any of the teams. A 20th placed Fulham is not at all written off , when they face the likes of Chelsea or Arsenal. This is the competition level in the Barclays Premier league. With more diversified culture and tactics, they not only provide good contested games but entertainment at its best.
Premier league is arguably the most competitive league and there is no question now, why it is the most popular too.
